Safety harness



May 15, 1951 P.' RosENTHAL 2,553,007

SAFETY HARNESS Filed May 20, 1949 ATTORN EY` Patented May 15, 1951UNITED STATES IFATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a har-ness for children adapted to -beused as a safety device for keeping children, .and especially infants,in a perambulator, crib or the like.

In particular, by the present invention a safety harness is providedwhich may be conveniently applied to and removed from the child, whichcan be readily adjusted to accommodate children of different sizes andwhich has a minimum of inconvenience and hindrance to the child, andespecially permits the child to turn completely over without the removalor unfastening of the harness.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention Will become moreapparent from the following description of ka preferred embodimentthereof taken in connection with the appended drawing, in which Figure 1shows a .partial plan view of the harness carried by a child confined toa crib;

Figure 2 shows a developed View of the harness itself;

Figure 3 shows a cross sectional View of the harness of Figure 2 alongline 3-3 thereof; and

Figure 4 shows an end view of the harness in fastened condition.

A harness according to the present invention comprises a waistencircling belt Il having a buckle I2 at one end and perforations I3 atthe other end cooperating with buckle I2, the perforations I3 in wellknown manner permitting the belt to accommodate different sizes ofwaists. A pair of shoulder straps III and I5 are provided which xedlyencircle the belt II at one end as shown at I6 and I'I by means of aloop turned back and fastened upon itself as illustrated by rivets I8.At the other end, the shoulder straps Ill and I 5 are supplied withperforated ends I9 and 20. Encircling the belt II are a pair of closedloops 2i and 22 having buckles 23 and 24 at their ends. These buckles 23and 24 cooperate with the perforated ends I9 and 2t to permit adjustmentof the length of the shoulder straps I4 and I5. The shoulder straps I4and I5 are joined by a back cross strap 25 formed with a pair of endloops 2li and 2l, freely sliding on the shoulder straps I 4 and I5.Also, there is provided a front cross strap formed in two sections 28and 29, each terminating in a loop slidable along a respective shoulderstrap. The two straps 28, 29 terminate respectively in a buckle 3!) anda perforated end 3l, permitting adjustment of the length of this crossstrap also. Where desired, any suitable means for xedly or movablysecuring the shoulder straps I4, I5 to lli 2 the main strap Il may beused, such as rings, hooks and eyes, snaps, rivets, sewing, etc. Thebuckles 23, 2d may also be located between crossstraps 25 and 28, 29where desired.

It will be apparent that the harness, as thus far described, is adaptedto be attached to the body in the manner shown in Figure 1 with theshoulder straps passing over the shoulder on either side of the head,with cross strap 25 on the back of the body and `cross strap 28, 29 onthe front of the body and the belt II encircling the waist. As shown inFigure 4, the buckle l2 is fastened at the side of the wearer, ratherthan at the front as in prior forms of harness. As will be seen, this isan important feature of my invention. The buckles 23, 24, 30 and I2 permit adjustment of the harness to any size child. Cross straps 25 and.28, 29 prevent the shoulder straps I4, I5 from slipping off the childsshoulders. In this way, the harness is retained snugly on the childsbody. To fasten the child to a crib, perambulator, or the like, a pairof retaining devices are provided as shown at Si and 32.. Each comprisesa snap hook 33 coupled to a link 34 engaging an adjustable strap 35having a buckle 36 at one end and perforations 31 at the other end,making an adjustable length loop. The snap hooks 33 are adapted to becoupled to a pair of sliding rings 38 encircling an auxiliary strap 39.Auxiliary strap 39 is fastened to the waist encircling belt I I at aminimum number of points. In the illustration shown, it is fastened asby riveting 4I at the end nearest the buckle I2 and by riveting l2 atthe other end nearest the perforations I3. In addition, it is fastenedto belt II by riveting at the center of the waist encircling belt, asshown at 43. One of the elements 38 engages the strap 39 between rivets4I and 43 and the other between rivets 42 and 43. Under somecircumstances, the rivet 43 can be eliminated entirely which will givemuch wider freedom of movement as will now be described.

As is shown in Figure 1, the two loops 35 encircle any desired portionsof the support for the child illustrated in Figure 1 as a crib Mi withthe loops 35 encircling slats 41 thereof. As shown most clearly inFigure 4, the mounting of the rings 38 on the auxiliary strap 39 gives awide latitude of freedom to the child wearing the harness. Thus, inFigure 4, the harness is shown in one extreme position. However, fromthis position the child can rotate substantially a complete for examplefrom lying on his back to lying on his stomach, in the direction shownby theA arrows 48 until the rings 38 engage the riveted fastenings atthe other extreme position. This complete rotation from front to back ismade possible by the side fastening of buckle I2, whereby one section-ofauxiliary strap 39 extends from one side to the other via the back, andthe other similarly extends from one side to the other via the front. Inthis way, even though loops 35 are securely fastened down the child canturn over completely or turn back completely as he desires, without inany way impairing or diminishing his safety. The shoulder straps I4 andI5 in no way impede this movement, which is further facilitated by thereduced friction inherent in the arrangement whereby the rings 38 slidebetween the main belt II and the auxiliary beltV 39, so that theclothing of the wearer does not impede the sliding action of the rings38. This provides an extreme advantage, especially for a young infantwhose parents may desire to turn him over in his crib or perambulator.The present harness permits this to be done without the necessity ofunfastening the harness in any way.

Accordingly, the present invention has provided a much more convenientharness for children without in any way impairing the safety offastening. It is to be understood that while the present invention hasbeen illustratively described as using buckles and perforated strapsother means of adjustable fastening may be sub stituted where deemedexpedient. Likewise, while riveted fastenings have been illustrated as apracticable and simple type of fastening, other kinds of fastening suchas screws, snaps, loops and hooks, stapling or sewing or any desiredtype of xed or removable fastening may be used. The straps and beltsjust described may be made Vof leather, cloth, plastic material or anyother desired material suitable for the purpose. It will also beunderstood that while auxiliary belt 39 has been shown as in one piece,it may, of course, be formed in two separate shorter pieces, eachfastened to the waist belt I I at both ends, one end being adjacent oneend of the waist encircling belt II and the other end being adjacent thecenter of belt II. Especially when leather is used, this permits the useof the cheaper short lengths of strap.

According to one important aspect ofthe invention the rivet e3 orWhatever fastening means is substituted therefor 'may be entirelyomitted. When this is done, the degree of freedom afforded to the childwearing the harness is increased still further over that shown in Figure2, sinceV the rivet 43 is then no longer present to provide a stop formovement of rings 38; It will be une derstood that while it is preferredto use the above improved safety harness on a child, it may be usedwhere necessary on children or adults or even animals or inanimateobjectsgwherever the `advantage of the use of such restraining means aredesired with a minimum of obstruction tothe freedom or action ofmovement of the wearer. According to another modication of the pres entinvention, the auxiliary strap (such asBS) or itsA equivalent two-straparrangement described above, may be securedinside the waistencirclingstrap in the manner already described. l In this casa-the auxiliarystrap (or straps) willcarry theA shoulder strap loops, such as IIL-I1 ,2I, 22, and the main strap II will. carry the rings While the inventionhas been described rela tive toshoulder straps, it will be understoodthat other straps, such as crotch straps, may be used with or in placeof shoulder straps, or all such straps may be omitted. .Y

When desired, the auxiliary strap 39 or its two sections as describedabove may be made removable, as by use of snap fasteners, hooks and eyesor loops, in place of rivets 4I, 42, 43. In such a case, the buckle I2may be moved to the front of the Waist strap I I, although such anarrangement is notr preferred because of the extra trouble in applyingand removing the harness.

It will be understood that many other minor modifications of theinvention just described may readily be conceived without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description isintended to be illustrative only and not to constitute a limitation uponthe invention which is defined solely by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A safety harness for confining a child, or the like, comprising awaist-encircling belt having a fastening means therefor adapted to bepositioned at the side of the wearer, an auxiliary strap fastened tosaid waist encircling belt on the outside thereof, at points adjacentthe ends of said belt and also at a point substantially midway betweenthe ends of said belt, a pair of shoulder straps each having a front endand a back end slidably mounted on said belt, the front pair of ends ofsaid shoulder Vstraps being positioned along said belt between one endfastening point of said strap and the intermediate fastening point ofsaid strap and the other back pair of ends of said shoulder straps beingslidably mounted on said belt between said intermediate fastening pointand the other end fastening point of said auxiliary strap, whereby saidbelt fastening means is worn at the side of the wearer, a pair of ringsslidably engaging said auxiliary strap, one ring being located betweenone end of said auxiliary strap and said intermediate fastening point`thereof and the other ring being located between the other end of saidauxiliary strap and saidV intermediate fastening point, and respectiveside fastening means removably attached to said rings for holding saidharness to fixed points, saidside fastening means comprising respectiveremovable hook means engaging Veach of said rings and a'.

fastening strap secured to each said hook means,

whereby substantially fullfreedom of turning from a back recumbentposition to a front recumbent position in one direction is afforded tothe wearer of said harness without impeding the ready adjustment of saidshoulder straps and even though said side fastening means maybe` securedto fixed objects.

l PHILIP ROSENTHAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

